Perception
by Morgri
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto has always had it tough. No family, no friends, and nowhere to go. One night, an accidental run-in on the Hyūga kidnapping sparks a small change of fate for those involved, the ripples of which are further-reaching than anyone could have ever imagined.


Disclaimer – Naruto and all its characters belong strictly to Kishimoto. However as I am not writing this for any monetary gain, I think I should be alright.

Summary – Uzumaki Naruto has always had it tough. No Family, no friends, and nowhere to go. One night, an accidental run-in on the Hyūga kidnapping sparks a small change of fate for those involved, the ripples of which are further-reaching than anyone could have ever imagined.

AU (Alternate Universe) There will be major OoC (Out of Character) throughout this story by some of the characters.

 **Authors Note:** Before I start I thought it would be important to layout the goal I have set out to achieve with this story. I have seen a lot of fanfiction (and in the past written myself) that shows Naruto growing up severely neglected and in some cases badly abused. Although the extent of the abuse is not clear in the manga, the anime shows he indeed was kicked around by shopkeepers, called names, and emotionally neglected to a large extent. In a lot of these fanfictions, Naruto somehow continues to be extremely cheerful, boisterous, attention seeking, and to an extent happy.

With that said, I wanted to take a different approach to Naruto's psychology. One where, with the help of genuine friends and mentors he obtains throughout the course of his journey, we see Naruto grow over time from a shy and cautious but ultimately sweet child into a boy who truly exudes happiness and understands love as more than just a concept.

If you are looking for a fic where Naruto is an instant genius who kicks tale with an awesome blood limit, this is not the fic for you. But if you enjoy reading about your favorite character's growth and development, and ultimately seeing him struggle with all his determination to succeed, then you might end up enjoying this fanfiction.

With that being said, Thanks for taking a gander at my story. I hope to hear your thoughts once you've read.

"Denotes Speech"

' _Denotes Thought'_

 **1** (Shift in time or scene)

 _Flashback/Past Events_

 _ **Perception**_

Morgri

Naruto looked up at the moon lit sky. It was just past midnight, a time when most of Konoha had already turned in. He could walk home without the glares and insults, using the pretty lights in the sky as a guide to remind him that not everything in life was a nightmare. The stars seemed serene, almost cheerful, and beckoned him into a world of imagination he had never considered. It entranced him, made him feel better, and sometimes even made him hopeful.

It was an open secret that Naruto was not well liked – a pariah in his own village, a cast out with no parents, no guardian and no friends. He often wondered why, begging anyone who would listen for an answer to his questions. Answers he never received, because no one cared to listen.

Once he had asked one of the kids his age, a girl with pink hair and a red bow, if she knew why her parents wouldn't let them play. "Well that's easy," She said, "Everyone knows you're a . . ." Naruto looked at her expectantly, finding it hard to believe that he would finally get an answer. However, before she could finish the girl was wisped away by her parents after they had kicked him in the side. He was a bit shocked at that moment – no one had ever actually hit him before. That began the first of a reoccurring theme.

Sometime later, after several similar occurrences, Naruto found himself laying on the couch of one Sarutobi Hiruzen, a man more widely known as the Third Hokage. The small blonde had trudged to the administration tower, large purple bruises and all, seeking any kind of solace available. Seeing the boy as he entered the large building, the older man quickly ushered the tear-stained child into his office, scolding the Chūnin guard who was causing a scene by yelling at the boy for no apparent reason. In short order, Sarutobi was able to calm the child down and after offering him some tea and a few kind words he found the boy nodding off on the large sectional in the room. It had been a huge shock to the village head when he heard the boy whisper in his sleep that maybe he'd be happy if he died like everyone wanted him to. That was the first time the man would shed tears since his bitter student had defected from the village. Naruto was only four years old at the time.

Life was a constant battle after that. Between bouncing around neglectful caregivers, avoiding the fists of angry parents and surviving one hospital trip granted him by a few miserable drunks during the October festival, Naruto was at loss for what to do. He was hungry for something other than sour milk and ramen, but it seemed the only place he could find good food happened to be, of all things, a ramen stand. The boy truly and honestly appreciated the old man for giving him food, often for free, but he yearned to taste the food that the other kids were eating. He remembered the last time he had eaten dango; Ojii-san had taken him out the day before his birthday as a celebration. The older man had quickly asked why Naruto didn't it more often.

"I want to eat more!" Naruto exclaimed, "It's just that . . . you wouldn't understand," he whispered, too inaudible for the old man to hear.

"Good, you could stand to eat more than just ramen," the Third smiled. The blonde smiled back, but it was only halfhearted. Of course he'd like to eat more, but they wouldn't let him. They'd toss him out, sometimes throwing stuff at him, like rocks and sticks, even their own produce.

Eventually he grew tired of it, and as any frustrated child would, he began to act out. At every turn he caused trouble; scribbling on any wall, throwing rocks at every vender cart, pranking the shop clerks. He even broke the windows of the civilian houses, trying anything he could to garner some attention. But everything played out wrong. The people just got angrier, and scarier. If anyone spoke at all it was to call him worthless, demon and the word that hurt the most – monster. Sometimes they wouldn't even look at him, which was almost worse than the glares he hated to begin with.

At first the boy had blamed the villagers for his attitude. After all, they were meanies that deserved to get pranked. If they wouldn't look at him, fine, he would force them to. He would show that he was there, that he was alive.

This strategy worked great, for a while. People were yelling at him, chasing him, throwing stuff at him . . . noticing him; and for the wrong reasons, the village pariah had found himself actually happy and excited. He made it a game to see how many windows he could break before anyone noticed, how far he could run before getting caught, and how fast he could heal from the painful injuries he accumulated. But the satisfaction hadn't lasted long. Villagers eventually figured out that ignoring him was more effective in stopping his vandalism than chasing him, and instead of insulting him directly, they insulted him amongst themselves, making sure they were loud enough to be heard.

After some time, the constant insults and periodic beatings started to wear on the young boy. The pain of being ignored and unnoticed tore at his self-esteem and the once boisterous and cheerful boy became more quiet and withdrawn. He became more nervous around people and his typical rambunctious voice added an infrequent stutter. This was hardly noticeable to most, but the Ichiraku Ramen chef, Teuchi, had picked it up almost immediately on a night where the Third Hokage had taken the boy out to eat. The cook's daughter, who was eleven years old at the time, had approached her father a bit concerned.

"Naruto seems different daddy," she said while cutting up vegetables in the back, "He's not as talkative as usual." The young girl frowned at her father, a small look of resolve in her eyes, "We should cheer him up!"

"I don't think it's that easy," The man responded. He looked at his daughter sadly but after seeing the frustration building up on her face he smiled at her, "But what we can do is give him the best service experience he's ever had, and I mean whenever he comes here. That's how we can show we care, right?" He said. The girl nodded, deciding that she would work a little harder preparing the tiny blonde haired boy's ramen that night. That had been a year ago.

Now Naruto found himself lifting his arms, hugging his shoulders as he peered into the night. He seemed lost in translation, desperate and afraid, as any six-and-a-half year old with nowhere to go would. He was supposed to be at his apartment, but no one really cared to enforce the curfew. In fact, he briefly considered whether the land lords would be happier with him not there, but set the thought aside.

The blonde stood ready to leave but was unable to take three steps before, out of nowhere, a figure erupted out of the bushes and plowed straight into him. Noticeably shocked, Naruto groaned, lifting his hands to his head as he staggered to his feet. A metallic object had obviously smacked him on the forehead and he could already feel a dense liquid leaking through his hands.

"It's like, B-blood?" He asked himself, eyes widening in shock. The boy immediately thrust his face forward looking for cause of the sudden commotion. He gasped when he saw a figure at his feet. This figure – which Naruto had determined was a man – lay still and unmoving and Naruto briefly contemplated whether or not he should check on the guy.

"Hey . . ." He said nervously, waiting for a reaction. When he did not get a response, he grabbed the man's arm and started to pull roughly so as to turn him around. The man was definitely heavy set, making the task of flipping him extremely difficult for Naruto. After several failed attempts the small boy was finally able flip the body. When he looked at the face he immediately stumbled back several steps, stunned to silence. The man laid dead, the kunai that had hit Naruto in the head forced right between the still form's eyes. Apparently the man had been running kunai in hand and when the blunt end of it struck Naruto, the force of the blow had caused the object to recoil directly between the guy's glabella.

Wiping away some of the blood that had run over his eyes, Naruto stood still for a second, his brain racing into overdrive, until he noticed the headband tightly tied around the dead man's forehead. As he looked closer, the small boy realized he could recognize nothing about the symbol except the fact that it certainly did not belong to Konoha. Hands shaking, he stepped closer, reaching out toward the band intent on getting a better look. He touched the etched metal, tapping it a few times before a sudden noise forced his hands straight back to his chest, his eyes vaulting towards the sound.

Startled at the sight, he began rubbing his hands together slowly, never realizing how wet from sweat they had become. What he saw was another body, this one much smaller and thinner than the larger man he had rolled over moments before. He shivered a bit, hoping that he was not about to see another dead person, but instinctively moved towards it anyway, curiosity getting the best of him. Stopping abruptly, he sighed in relief after seeing some slight movement. He gathered his wits and cautiously began trotting closer, noticing that this body belonged to a young girl.

The girl, who had begun to stir, had short dark blue hair that barely reached the collar of her purple night gown. She was slightly smaller than Naruto in stature, but was much leaner and carried slightly more muscle; evidence that she was already training in the shinobi arts. After catching a glimpse of her waking figure, Naruto noticed her pupil-less lavender eyes and gasped. This was no ordinary girl. This was a Hyūga, a girl from one of the seven major clans in Konoha. He recognized that easily. After-all, his dream was to become Hokage and as worthless as he felt, he knew that certain information was so important that it had to be known, especially since it was the constant hot topic of debate whenever he found himself at the administration tower.

The old man had once explained it to him like this. Konoha at its core is a military nation. Due to the severity of the wars that had constantly broken out over the last eight or nine decades, several hundred regions found their villages completely destroyed and ransacked. The result left thousands upon thousands of civilians displaced from their homes and families.

During the small windows of peace, the five military superpowers that made up the continent would open their borders in an effort relieve some of most dire situations inadvertently caused at the hand of these wars. The Fire Nation, whose capital village was Konoha, had well been known for its exceptional tolerance towards foreign visitors and overwhelming success dating back to over a century. This success was mostly attributed to the unmatched quality of leadership provided by the former Hokages, all of whom had developed reputations of compassion, fairness, as well as a ferocity that commanded respect and honor. Because of this, it became the prime landing spot for many of these displaced civilians.

As the Fire Country's civilian population grew, so did the level of responsibility required to care and protect these civilians. A sense of rivalry between native clans and migrant clans developed, each side trying to make their case for new land to allow growth and expansion and more funds to research more advanced training techniques and better battle equipment. Unfortunately, the increased tension and overwhelming pressure to expand influence eventually phased out many of the more modest clans, even though some of their specialized skills were crucial to the nations success.

Through-out these influential years in Konoha's history, seven clans were ultimately able to rise to the top. These were, listed in order of influence: the Uchiha clan, whose family specific doujutsu, Sharingan, created the ultimate offense; The Hyūga clan, whose family specific doujutsu, Byakugan, created the ultimate defense; the Nara clan, whose intelligence was known to create the ultimate tactical advantage; the Inuzuka clan, whose tracking skills were unparalleled; the Aburame Clan, whose control over insects gave Konoha an overwhelming defensive advantage inside of their forestry borders; And the Yamanaka Clan, whose ability to enter one's mind created an art out of interrogation.

Because of their family specific bloodline abilities, it wasn't uncommon for these seven clans to have a guardian or caretaker shadowing their children at all times. Kidnappings of kids with special bloodlines were quite frequent, even in times of peace. Rival Villages were constantly seeking new advantages and acquiring advanced bloodlines offered the best and most efficient opportunities to achieve those advantages.

Now, Naruto did not completely understand everything as the old man had explained it, but he did understand that whatever it was playing out before him was not supposed to be happening. With this in mind, he suddenly found himself asking the same questions over and over. Why was the girl out here? What was the strange man with unrecognizable headband doing with her? Where were her guardians and who was supposed to watching over her?

He stumbled over to small girl, attempting to ignore the inner voice telling him to leave it alone and offered his hand to her, "Are y-you okay?" He blurted out. Dazed and light-headed, she snapped her head towards the boy and yelped when he was able catch her hand before she fell back to the ground. She stared at him for moment while trying to gather herself and after being pulled to her feet she averted her gaze.

"Thank you," She whispered. Her breathing started to even out as she found herself relaxing, but Naruto could feel her hand shaking within his. He was really unsure of what to say, so he thought as hard as he could about what would make him feel better in this situation. He didn't have much experience when it came to comforting people, so he settled to just squeeze her hand slightly and then pulled her a bit closer, "I-I don't know what hap . . ." she trailed off, eyes widening as she began to take in the whole scene, "Did you . . . ?"

"It's like, he ran into me!" The boy interrupted, feeling a bit panicked at her sudden shock, "T-Then, I found him li-li-like that," He stuttered, looking away from his new acquaintance. He didn't know where the abrupt fear had come from, but he shuttered at the thought of another person seeing him like everyone else did, like a monster.

"You're bleeding," she said, reaching up to touch his forehead. She then paused, looking at the blood she had rubbed onto her fingers, "You must be strong, to not be scared of all this." She then stiffened, eyes growing determined as she snatched Naruto's hands into hers, "Can you teach me, h-how to be strong?"

Naruto looked back at the girl, wide-open eyes as he stood startled by her words. His gaze only lasted a second before he diverted his face from hers again, "I'm not strong," he said, slightly disappointed with his answer. He felt the girl tug his hands and then relented, "But, I think you already are." He looked back up at her and she gasped when he smiled, "I mean . . ." Naruto paused, unsure if the words he was speaking were the right ones, "You are special, I-I can already tell," the blonde shifted awkwardly, slightly uncomfortable with where the conversation had deviated.

"I don't understand," she said. She let go of Naruto and began to rub her left arm with her right hand, slowly losing the determination she had built up, "Why would you think I'm special? My fa . . ." Naruto instantly felt the girls change in mood. It was as if her courage had completely abandoned her, the intensity in her eyes no longer, "My Fa . . . Father says that I'm not strong," she said shamefully, grimacing as she allowed her sight to move from Naruto to the ground.

The blonde stared at her for a moment before firmly gripping the girl's shoulders. The sudden pressure caused her gaze to jolt back to Naruto, "You are special!" He said, "Because you're a nice person." With confidence brimming in his words he grasped her tighter and smiled again, "Ojii-san said so. He said 'You can tell someone is truly strong when they are kind in every situation'. You can be strong no matter what your dad says, besides," He paused as his shyness gradually came back, "You've been . . . you've been kind to . . ."

"Hinata-sama!"

Startled at the new voice, both children flinched and before they could turn completely Naruto felt the palm of a hand impact his chest. He hit the ground hard, and quickly found himself losing consciousness. Coughing roughly, he tried to look back to girl but his vision was too blurry to tell if she was okay. Instead everything went black and he never heard the tearful cries of the girl calling out for him.

 **1**

The lights flickered in and out as he gained consciousness. His eyes burned, everything was so bright. His throat was dry and he was feeling parched as his body ached; there was no desire to move at all and even if there was he didn't think he could if he wanted to. The throb in his head made it hard to think and the chime in his ears threatened to overwhelm him. He wanted to throw up, but he couldn't even do that.

Naruto's ears rung when he heard a door shut at the corner of the – In truth, he had no idea where it had shut. He had no idea where he even was. The boy covered his eyes with his hands, trying to block out the brilliant light. A moan escaped his lips as he tried to remember what had happened. In his mind, everything was a blur and as hard as he tried to put the pieces together, he found that there were too many missing to complete the puzzle.

Suddenly panicked, the young boy's breathing picked up heavily and he found himself fighting against the tight sheets that wrapped his body. "Huh?" He jumped. It wasn't until he felt a hand touch his arm and heard a voice cut through the ringing in his ears that he was finally able to slow his mind and calm down. Naruto looked up, eyes following the arm of the man who had touched him, "O-Ojii-san!" He said, somewhat surprised.

The elder looked at him compassionately, a small comforting smile fixed in its place. He reached to take the small pipe out of his mouth so he could talk but was abruptly interrupted by the small boy.

"I'm at the hospital again," he said, a frown finding its way onto the blondes face, "I d-didn't do anything w-wrong this time, I promise!" Naruto shifted a bit, avoiding the older man's gaze and continued, "It's like, I can't even remember what I did, so maybe I did do something wrong, no, but I would have remembered," The boy let an array of completely different emotions paint his features while he scratched the back of head contemplatively, "B-but I'm so sure of it, I usually remember these kind of things because it's like a game so I always remember. T-then why I can't remember now, it' just . . ."

"Naruto," The grey haired man finally pulled the boy out of his thoughts, "It's okay, you did nothing wrong," he said. Naruto sighed, slightly relieved to hear that everything wasn't his fault, "However, you did do something incredibly rash and utterly stupid! What were you thinking being out that late?" The boy to look away after Hokage-sama's harsh words and muttered something inaudibly. "But, despite your carelessness, your actions may have just saved this village from an all-out war." The man finished.

Naruto eyes widened, trying to comprehend what was going on, "I s-saved the village?" He whispered, still looking away from his grandfather figure, "from war?" The boy gasped, clinching the sheets tighter. For reasons he couldn't comprehend he found himself confused about his feelings; torn between a happiness and excitement for having done something of real value, but also finding himself bitter for who knows what reason, "I don't understand," he finished, voice trailing as he finally loosened his grip on the sheets.

Watching the internal struggle play out before him, Sarutobi eyed the child with a sudden fascination, wishing he could peer into the boy's thoughts. As simple as Naruto seemed, the old man began to wonder if behind the boy's innocent eyes lay a complex and intricate interior; after all, being able to stay sane while housing the most powerful yokai, the Kyūbi, required a certain inner strength, even if it went unnoticed. With this in mind he decided to steer the topic in another direction.

"It looks like you've made a friend," The old man smiled. He motioned towards a large nightstand sitting by the side of Naruto's bed. There, in a small jar, stood a beautiful yellow rose, as vibrant as the boy had ever seen. Naruto looked at it intensely before clumsily trying to pull himself up to reach for the stem, "If I recall correctly, a young Yamanaka girl once told me that that flower stands for lasting friendship," Hokage-sama said, grabbing the young boy to help him sit up. The old man pulled the flower out of the jar and handed it to Naruto, "It looks like there are decent people in the village after all, right Naruto?"

For a moment the boy sat speechless, unable to make sense of what he had just heard. Someone had given a flower, to him? He hugged the yellow bloom to his chest, deciding then that he never wanted to let it go. The other person in the room stood still, a sad smile breaking out on his lips, as he watched with interest. The man briefly allowed his mind to wander, the thought of the young boys suffering stealing his attention.

A myriad of questions jerked at his heart, but the biggest one, that is, had he really done enough for the boy, tugged at his soul the deepest. The Hokage found that he could never fully answer that question; partly because he didn't want to know it, and partly because he knew if he were honest, he probably wouldn't like the answer anyway. Gazing upon Naruto and the honest surprise that riddled the boy's face, he realized that eventually there would be no way around it. He would have to face the decisions that he had made regardless of how the outcome played out. Starting now, with the dim realization that he may have cost Naruto his first real friend, the elder decided it was time to stop running. The man sighed. It would hurt that much more to finish the conversation he originally intended to have with the child.

Brushing the thoughts aside, he allowed himself to become more serious. If he really wanted to help the boy this time, he would make sure to be as open and honest as he could and explain the situation at hand, "Naruto, I'm sure you have questions," He said, breaking the boy out of his trance. The blonde peered over to him, slowly nodding his head as he continued to grip the flower, "I'll answer them the best I can, but know that I may not be able to disclose some information, as negotiated with the council," the man said bitterly. He sat down in a small chair at the corner of the room and eyed the boy directly, "First and foremost, you have been in this hospital room for two weeks now. When you were brought to us, you were in critical condition due to . . ." The man paused choosing his words carefully, ". . . certain events. Be assured that the situation has been handled and the involved party has been dealt with accordingly."

"You are probably finding yourself struggling to remember the events that played out and may have even suffered from a small headache. This is normal," Hokage-sama said as he pulled his hat off his head, placing it on the table next to his chair. "For your protection we had an elder of the Yamanaka clan, Inochi, wipe your memories." At this Naruto grimaced, he had been chased by some from that clan before and knew they could access his mind. On more than one occasion he woke up in the middle of nowhere with no direction as to where to go; always after an altercation with one of their members, "Rest assured that he was vetted and found to hold no ill will towards you and I can personally assure you that nothing else in your mind was destroyed," Said the old man as he tried to ease the discomfort that had made its way onto the young boys face.

"W-why did you have to erase everything?" Naruto said, eyes downcast, "I must have done something really s-stupid, like a-always." Sarutobi winced at the fidgeting boy's self-deprecation but patiently waited for him to finish, "It's like, I-I never do anything right." The boy let his hands drop to his lap, flower still gripped, and fell silent. Honestly, he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to the question. Maybe it would be better off forgotten, that way he wouldn't have to deal with the "what if's" and "if only's" that would fester in his mind.

But then Naruto found himself curious. What if what had happened had somehow involved the mysterious person who had given him the flower? What if all of this had to do with the person Ojii-san had just called his "friend"? Was that something that he'd want to forget no matter how stupid he had been in that moment? The boy pondered this silently never looking back towards the older man and after good minute of silence the elder finally spoke.

"You were nothing of the sort," Sarutobi said, "In fact, due to your actions and . . ." he paused, making an expression the boy had never seen on the man, ". . . a little bit of, shall we say, mandatory negotiation, I have convinced the council to allow your enrollment into the ninja academy." He said as a proud smile overtook his lips.

"R-r-really!?" Naruto said, completely shocked as his head bolted in the direction of the man, "You mean me, a ninja?" The boy excitedly brought the flower back to his chest gripping it tightly. He was overcome with an emotion that he hadn't felt in a long time, but as fast as it had come it had gone, and he felt himself become more nervous and afraid, "D-do you think I could do it," he said, doubt creeping into his mind, "Become a n-ninja? It's like, I've always wanted to."

Briefly taken back by the boy's lack of confidence, the man had to gather his thoughts. How bad had he let everything get for Naruto? True, he had assigned plenty of Anbu to protect the boy, and then there were the laws and statutes that were in place, and the apartment, stipend and caretaker he had provided the child. But thinking about it now he realized the last time he had personally visited Naruto had been the day before his last birthday, over a year ago; and among other Hokage duties and the mounds of paperwork, he had only quickly glanced through any negative reports regarding Naruto, believing them to be just behavioral issues.

Then the question struck him. Would the assigned caretakers lie in their reports? Would his own Anbu subordinates willfully withhold information from him?

He remembered the more than one occasion when he had to chastise the Chūnin in his office for bad mouthing Naruto. In fact, dealing with that had almost become second nature because it had happened so often. He remembered then that at some point during Naruto's birthday lunch, Teuchi the chef had mentioned that Naruto looked malnourished and underfed. Ayame, the chef's daughter, had taken Naruto to the back to teach him some vegetable cutting tips. He had brushed that off, saying that it was because ramen was the only thing he could get the boy to eat.

On top of all this was the nurse in charge of hospital room 214, Naruto's room, who in passing had remorsefully mentioned that the boy's visits seemed to be getting more frequent as time went on. He had honestly meant to have her explain herself, but an emergency call had directed her attention elsewhere. The man rubbed his forehead, he had a lot of work to do, and if the incoming headache was any indication, it meant it was troublesome work.

Focusing his attention back to Naruto the man moved his hand to his chin in a mock expression of bewilderment, "Now now Naruto, I have never known you to be one to doubt yourself," he said, "You know back in the day they used to call me 'the Professor', do you know why?"

"No," the boy said.

"When I was young I studied everything there was to know about the shinobi arts. I learned over 1,500 techniques and mastered six martial art styles," Sarutobi said. Naruto's eyes widened and he looked at the man with a sense of awe and respect, "But the ability I had that made me the most proud?" Naruto stared in anticipation, "I could see someone's potential just by looking at them, and Naruto, let me tell you that you have an infinite amount of potential," he smiled widely at the boy, "I have no doubt that you can become a Hokage one day."

For the first time since waking up a small smile decorated the boy's lips, Hokage-sama watching intently as he continued to fiddle with the flower, "M-maybe I can meet the person who g-gave me this?" The boy said.

"I'm sure you will," The elder said, "Since the academy is graduating its class next month you'll be starting next year. Be ready to work hard!"

The Hokage grinned as he watched the boy lay back on his bed arms outstretched talking about becoming a ninja to the little flower in his hands. For everything he had done wrong over the last few years, Sarutobi was finally able to feel as if had done something right; and somehow, in his heart, he knew everything was going to work out just fine.

 **2**

Waiting for a teacher to call her in, the blue haired girl stood patiently at the doors of classroom 105a in the first floor halls of the Konoha Ninja Academy. Eyes closed, she found herself thinking back to everything that had led up to this moment.

It had taken a while, but her father had finally allowed her to leave the house in an unsupervised setting for a brief period of time. Granted, her guardians would drop her off and pick her up before and after school, but the six hours of freedom that the academy allowed her would be a source of independence for the girl. It's not that she minded being home or anything, but it was starting to feel constrictive with the all the extra attention she had been receiving.

Getting her father to allow her to join the academy had not been an easy task. He had continually insisted that he be fully involved in preparing and training her for her future as the leader of the Hyūga clan; but after the girl delivered a well-constructed argument detailing how studying out of the home would allow her to become more able to deal with outside influences, as well as learn clan politics from a different perspective, the man relented and gave into her request. Admittedly, her argument was a complete fabrication and she would never tell her father her true motivations for going to the academy; besides, a girl needed her freedom and she was itching to experience events outside of her own house.

It had been over a year and a half since the kidnapping incident and during that small time frame a lot had changed in the life of Hyūga Hinata. For starters, she had been assigned not one, but two permanent guardians; both of which she found incredibly clingy and overbearing, but also, to be fair, extremely sweet and caring. Secondly, her father, for the first she could remember, had become a constant presence in her life. Not only had he taken on a more serious roll in her studies and training, but also as a mentor and a parent.

Whereas Hinata had expected a small amount of added attention from her father, at least for a while, the gradual increase in time spent with him had been staggering, almost like straight out of a dream. The first signs of the sudden change in attitude happened after her father included her in a very secretive meeting with her uncle, various members of the Hyūga and Konoha council, and Hokage-sama himself.

The basis of said meeting came as no surprise to Hinata, who was already expecting to take on some kind role since she had been heavily involved in the whole occurrence. However, after answering many questions regarding when and how she had been taken, and giving a short account of the aftermath, she became lost in the fray. The rest of the meeting had become well above her level of understanding and comprehending the meaning of anything presented was almost impossible. In fact, she was about to fall asleep until four specific details finally caught her interest.

First, the Raikage claimed complete innocence, steadfastly denying any involvement in the attempted kidnapping. Second, because a Kumogakure shinobi had been killed only hours after the signing of a peace treaty, the Raikage demanded compensation in the form of her father's – Hyūga Hiashi – dead body. Third, her uncle, the father of Cousin Hyūga Neji, had volunteered to sacrifice his life for the sake of his brother and the clan. Then finally, they could use the blonde boy she had met, whom they had mentioned was named Naruto, as a scapegoat by killing him instead; an idea which had completely shocked both her and Hokage-sama, leaving the older man to vehemently argue against it.

Now, the young girl knew she was not the sharpest tool in the shed, she also realized she knew nothing about politics; but by any stretch of the imagination these demands seemed hardly fair. Even she could see the utter ridiculousness of such stipulations and she was a little girl. Surely her father would not cave into what obviously amounted into a power play by the Raikage. Yet as the conclave continued and the ideas spilled out, no member of either council, her father or even Hokage-sama could find an alternative.

Feeling a sudden desperation on top of a deafening silence that had overcome the room, the young Hyūga nervously raised her hand, "Umm, I'm sorry for interrupting, but, umm . . ." She paused trying to gather her courage. The Hokage just motioned for her to continue, ". . . Naruto is the boy who saved me, right? Is he okay? He was bleeding a lot, a-and, he got hit really hard!" She said, a look of concern flooding her face. Her father bent down to quiet her but Hokage-sama intervened, holding his hand up at Hiashi, signaling that he intended to respond.

"I can assure you that Naruto is fine, little one," Hokage-sama said, "He is recovering in the hospital." He smiled at the young girl, causing her to blush, "Maybe you can give him a little visit before he gets released."

"Y-yes!" She said, relieved to hear the boy was okay, "It's just that, that guy hit him first, so I thought that . . . I thought that, that guy started it!" Hinata teared up, her voice getting loud and covered with emotion, "It's not fair, because he started it, and he should have to pay!" She said angrily.

All eyes in the room turned towards her, everyone completely shocked at the normally quiet girl's outburst. Hiashi even jumped back in surprise, quickly needing to recollect himself as Hokage-sama spoke, "You said Naruto got hit first, by the Kumogakure ninja?"

"Yes!" the girl said, voice still dripping with intense emotion, "That man started everything. So he," Hinata began to shake, her voice turning bitter, "he deserved to die!" The Hyūga heiress slammed her fists to the floor gritting her teeth at no one in particular. Completely stunned yet again, her ordinarily composed father had to place a hand on the girl's shoulder to calm her down. Realizing the ruckus she had just caused, Hinata let an 'eep' escape her lips and quickly bowed in a desperate attempt to apologize to the elders in the room, "I-I'm sorry . . ."

Truth be told, the young girl had no idea why she had become so angry, and she didn't know where the boldness to go on such a tirade had come from. Something about the whole experience grated her nerves, starting with the absurd demands of the Raikage, a man whom she had quickly grown to hate. Next was the incessant arguing and screaming from everyone in the room that had not resulted in a single decent proposition that would save her father or uncle's life; and it made her angry.

She realized then what it was that topped all those reasons, what it was that added the most to her stress. It was the blatant disrespect and complete disregard the blonde haired boy received whenever his name was brought up in the meeting. It was the scowls on the lips and glares in the eyes of most of the council members; and that made her even angrier.

After all, this was the same blonde haired boy who had saved her life and, coincidentally, her entire clan's blood limit. This was the same boy who had helped her up while she was completely disoriented after finally regaining consciousness. This was same boy who had told her that she was kind and that she was special, and that she was strong, and that no matter what her father said she could be strong.

Then Hinata realized that she just wanted to see Naruto and thank him for everything he had done. She wanted to ask him to be her friend and to grow up to be strong with her. She didn't really understand those feelings, but she understood that that was what she wanted, "I-I just don't want anyone to get hurt anymore, especially . . ." she whispered.

Suddenly everything clicked for Sarutobi, and he cursed himself for not thinking of the answer sooner. He scowled, an incredible seriousness taking over his face. Fine, if the Raikage wanted to play hardball, then he would play it harder. He would outfox the fox and do it with a certain fury, "Hiashi-san, please escort your daughter from the room, we have important business to discuss," Hokage-sama said. The Hyūga quickly complied.

Hinata was never told of the outcome of that meeting, but she couldn't argue with the results. She couldn't remember the extent of every request the Raikage had demanded, but she knew that the only ones that mattered to her had been denied. Somehow Hokage-sama had concocted a plan to spare her father and her uncle and retain peace. He even did it without involving the blonde haired boy, as far as she was told. Whatever method he used didn't matter to Hinata, it just mattered that everything turned out okay. She had decided that day that Hokage-sama was an amazing man.

Shortly after that infamous meeting, the girl noticed her father as he approached her and prepared for the worst. She was slightly afraid of the punishment she would receive for her short outburst, so she found herself shaking nervously as he got closer. It was then he did something that the blue haired girl would never forget; he fell to his knees, face a teary mess, and bowed before the girl.

Completely stunned, Hinata clasped her hands, swaying anxiously back and forth. Things like this just didn't happen. Men such as her father did not bow before a child, even if they were their own kin. After all, he was the head of one of the most powerful clans that Konoha had produced; he was the well-respected leader of the Hyūga.

Struggling to say anything, she was finally rescued from her awkwardness when her father lifted his head and spoke, "I've neglected you and looked down on you. I've turned my head at your mistakes and never praised you for your accomplishments," Hiashi paused, moving to look his daughter in the eyes, "I missed so much in the life of my children and I'm ashamed that it took the near-death of my first born and a meeting to decide my fate to make me realize it."

Hinata flinched when Hiashi reached up and took her hands in his, her voice once again deserting her. She stuttered a bit before being interrupted, her father saving her once again, "I don't deserve your forgiveness and I not asking you to right away, But . . ." The girl was surprised when she felt his hands trembling and looked at him in the eyes. Her father had never talked to her like this, so genuinely, ". . . Hinata, my child, would you give me another chance. Will you allow me to be a real father to you and your sister?" He finished with a strength in his voice that the young girl found comforting and almost instantly she could feel her cheeks wet, eyes burning with tears.

Having forgotten everything in a fit of raw emotion, she threw herself into her father's arms and let herself go. The girl couldn't remember how long she cried that night, but when she woke up early the next morning she remembered staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours, a smile painted on her lips.

Later that morning she found herself peaking around the corner, tip toeing to where her dad's office was and quietly opening the sliding doors of his office. Peaking intently into the room she almost jumped to the ceiling when she felt a finger tap her shoulder. Swiftly turning around she saw her father standing before her and after panicking she bowed to apologize. She stopped when Hiashi took her by the hand, led in her in his office and sat her down, asking her she wanted. When she responded that she just wanted to see him, he patted her on the head, grabbed a book and started listing out a large curriculum of study materials and training that they would start going over together.

The first few lessons were awkward for Hinata. She was not used to being praised for her small victories instead of being belittled, corrected from mistakes instead of being looked down upon and complimented for her refined and smooth form. Her father was more composed and accommodating, working with her on her shortcomings instead of casting it off as a lack of talent. Because of this, Hinata's confidence soared, her strikes became more focused and the hesitation in her steps ceased. Her stutter disappeared and she was able to look people in the eyes. After six months of dedicated training she had caught up with her fellow peers and after a year she could stand toe to toe with her cousin Neji, a boy regarded as a genius by the clan elders.

Hiashi was genuinely astonished with the transformation and found himself questioning the many broken methods the Hyūga had clung to in the past. He saw that one can be kind but strong, graceful but powerful and loving but dangerous. He started to reason that, with a little bit of actual care a wilting bud could become a beautiful flower. Finally, he learned how greatly the actions of a parent could affect ones child and felt ashamed.

The man was shocked when Hinata had a cried again the first time he had told her that he loved her. Even more so at how easily the words had escaped his lips. Hinata just toted her sister around all day, a huge smile decorating her lips as she said hi and hugged every member of the Hyūga clan she could find. She even cooked dinner that night for the entire family.

However, amongst all the exciting new and wonderful things happening in the girl's life, she often found her mind wondering back to the little blue eyed blonde that had saved her life. She wondered if he was okay, where he was, what he was doing and if he even remembered who she was. The last question saddened her but she wouldn't fault him if he didn't remember; after all, it had been over a year since they had met and the only time she had been able to approach him he still hadn't woken up from the small coma he'd been put in.

In reality, Hinata had seen him in passing a couple of time, the sightings always brief and without contact. He was always alone and tended to keep his distance from everyone at the markets. He never went into the stores, never talked to anyone and for the most part kept his eyes averted from most people. She had seen him eating at the outdoor ramen stand once, it was only time the girl could remember him ever talking to anyone. She had asked her guardians several times about the whole ordeal, but they either ignored the question, told her it wasn't for the Hyūga to concern themselves for such a thing, or just claimed it was because he was a bad influence. Hinata didn't buy any of it.

One day, when walking back to her room after a particular heavy day of training, she heard a council member angrily mention that Naruto had been accepted into the academy, Hokage's order. She didn't get why the councilman was so bothered but despite her annoyance she found herself celebrating inside. She was ready for the academy now, so she set off to convince her father too . . .

"Hinata-chan, are you okay?"

Hinata snapped to when saw a hand waving in her face, the kind eyes of her long-silvered-haired teacher staring at her with concern. Blinking a couple of times, she put her hand to her head and laughed nervously, "Ah sorry Mizuki-sensei, I was just thinking about . . . stuff," She said. She smiled cheekily at him, trying her best to assure him that she was telling the truth. The teacher stared at her disbelievingly, but after a few seconds let it go and put his arm around her. How long had she been out of it?

"Well okay. Come on then, we will get you settled in the class," Her sensei said, "There is a good mixture of boys and girls in this class, so you should have no shortage of friends. We have some trouble makers but everything I've heard assures me you're a good girl and will stay out of trouble."

While Mizuki-sensei led her in, Hinata giggled as she heard the hustle and bustle, the jokes and the laughing and cutting up typically associated with primary school classrooms. Finding the new scenery a fresh change from her homeschooling room, she confidently turned to towards her fellow students ready to introduce herself. The class quieted as she entered, all eyes rushing towards her form expectantly. Needless to say everyone was excited to meet the new transfer student.

"Class, I'd like you to give a warm welcome to our newest classmate. She was home schooled for the first quarter of the year, but—"

"Hey, that's . . . !" A pink haired girl interrupted.

"No interrupting!" The teacher scolded back, before continuing his apparent dissertation.

Easily recognizing this girl as Haruno Sakura, a girl whom she'd met in the market several months ago, she waved and then started scanning the classroom. She knew many of the girls, mostly from chance encounters during planned social outings, and had a gist of who made up most of the boys. Being among the most recognizable of the students where the children belonging to the any of the seven major clans.

In the middle row there was a Nara boy, an Akamichi boy and a Yamanaka girl. Hinata surmised that they probably knew each other pretty well. Below them, sitting in the second row was an Uchiha boy, presumably the younger brother of former military police second-in-command Uchiha Itachi; he had his arms crossed and an annoyed grimace on his face.

Hinata felt a tinge of pity, remembering that most of his clan, including his mother and father, had been decimated not long ago. From what she came to understand, several of the Uchiha leaders had come in cahoots with a strange man named Danzo and some other unidentified masked man. A plan to cause a small uprising against the village was discovered by Uchiha Itachi whom, in a sense, had rebelled against his clan and in a desperate attempt to show his loyalty, revealed the coup d'état to the Hokage. Itachi, with the help of her father and uncle were able to minimize the damage, however, it came at the cost of hundreds of lives.

Feeling the deep despair and grief of losing his father and much of his clan, Itachi requested permission from Hokage-sama to travel outside of Konoha under the guise of a missing-nin, desiring to protect the village from any other negative external influences. Hokage-sama agreed under the condition that his journey started under the care of white-haired man she hadn't recognized. Now, technically she shouldn't have known any of this information, but being a Hyūga had its perks, and was slowly learning to take advantage of each and every one of them.

The Uchiha was joined by a couple of girls on one side and an Aburame boy on the other. Moving towards the opposite side of the room was a very loud and obnoxious boy with a dog on his head. He was clearly from the Inuzuka clan and had no qualms of making it known. He was sitting beside the previously mentioned pink haired girl and another boy she couldn't put a face to.

". . . Now as I was saying, Hyūga-chan, would you kindly introduce youself and then take an open seat where ever you like . . . Though I would stay away from the top row if I were you" Mizuki said with a smirk, making sure to whisper the last part.

Hinata stared at him in confusion and was about to speak when suddenly, as she turned her attention to the top row, her eye caught the last boy in last seat, in the top row. There, peering out window distantly, sat a blonde haired boy. The girl gasped, it was Naruto; it was really Naruto! How had she missed him? Hands suddenly shaking, she pinched her wrist trying to calm her sudden nerves. She didn't know where her sudden jitters had come from, after all, she hadn't felt nervous in a very long time, but it seemed as though all the anticipation of finally meeting him came crashing down on her at once.

Realizing she had been standing in the middle of the spotlight without saying a word for at least 30 seconds, she began to speak. "Uh, ah, my name is Hyūga Hinata, I will be in your care this year, Nice to meet you all . . ." She smiled halfheartedly, her focus still on the boy in the corner.

"Welcome!" The entire class returned the greeting except the blonde haired boy, who just gazed at her with a sense of confusion. She briefly wondered if he had remembered her, a bit of hope flaring up in her; but then she determined that it didn't matter because she already prepared for it either way.

Hinata took a deep breath, willing away her nerves and finally began making her way to a seat. Despite the voices of several students calling her to sit here or there, she kept on walking, eyes focused on person and one place. A couple of the students were shocked when she had completely ignored them, specifically Uchiha Sasuke, who had, to every female's initial despair, even moved over to make a seat for the girl.

She was snapped out of her stupor when she felt a hand grasp hers and when she looked over towards the source of contact she stalled. "Sit here with me," the pink haired Sakura smiled. Hinata frowned, frustrated with being stalled but politely bowed and declined. Upset at the refusal, Sakura looked towards the direction of the girls eyes and then gasped, "Wait you're sitting up there? Why? Everyone knows to stay away from . . . ugh"

Hinata yanked her arm free, already angry at the words she knew were coming and glared at the suddenly frozen girl, "You don't know anything," she said. The blue haired girl turned her head and continued walking, leaving everyone who heard in a state of bewilderment. Naruto, on the other hand, gazed at her curiously, a sense of misplaced nostalgia hitting him in the gut; but he didn't say anything, afraid he'd get chastised again for speaking out of turn.

"Fine, but I warned you," Sakura said, visibly irritated.

Calming herself down, Hinata looked back towards the blonde haired boy who had witnessed everything and smiled at him. She noticed that he seemed surprised and her smile faltered slightly when the boy blushed and quickly averted his gaze back towards the window.

Hinata knew from watching him the market that he was a shy boy, but to see the extant of it was quite eye-opening. Something was different about the Naruto she saw now and the Naruto she had met back then. It was like he had lost something, but she couldn't put a finger to it. It troubled her to an extent and as she thought it about it, she realized the he reminded her a lot of herself; the way she used to be before the kidnapping, before she had truly found a family.

Then it hit her, and as she sat down in the seat next to the blonde haired boy she had always looked for; as she tapped him on the shoulder and smiled at him when he turned to her, eyes downcast, she knew what she had to do.

"Hi, my name is Hinata . . . "

In matter of seconds he had completely changed her life. He had saved her.

". . . Hyūga Hinata, and I am so, so happy to meet you . . ."

This time she would make the difference. She would be the one to save him.

 **III**

 **Authors Note:** Hi everyone! Thanks for taking the time to read my story. I have 5 chapters planned for the story, all taking place pre-graduation. At the same time, I think this makes a cute little one-shot too, so I don't know if I should take the chance of ruining the story by writing the next five chapters. I guess it's something to think about. If you have thoughts on this story, or ways that you think it could be improved, please review and let me know. I take all criticism in consideration and I think it ultimately helps makes the story better over time. Special thanks to my proof-reader **Jaxel**. He's a busy guy so if you guys see some errors, please point them out and I'll make sure to fix them quickly.

A couple of quick notes about our two main characters:

 **Naruto:** I wanted to take a different approach to a lot of the Naruto's that we see on FanFiction. I have no basis for how I'm writing him, just what I learned by doing some research on the typical behavior of abused children. You usually find two different types, the quiet/shy/untrusting ones, and then there are the angry and bitter ones. Obviously this is not the case for every child, but it's the general. I know he might be frustrating at first, but should I continue with the chapter version of the fic you will see a lot of development in him during his 5 years at Konoha Academy.

 **It's Like:** Let's be honest. Putting Dattebayo at the end of an English sentence does not make sense. So I decided to use this phrase as Naruto's verbal tick. He only uses it when he's excited or flustered, so it's not likely to appear more than 4 to 5 times a chapter.

 **Hinata:** While a lot of the first chapter was used to develop Naruto and show the abuse that lead to his personality, I really tried to make the story behind Hinata's new confidence believable. Does she still get flustered? Yes, she did that when she saw Naruto in class. On the other hand, yes she is a much more confident person in the story and will be Naruto's biggest influence and supporter in this story.

 **On meeting Naruto:** I understand that Hinata might have come off to some as a bit fangirlish in her desire to meet Naruto, but I don't think that is the case. I think I made it pretty clear that she saw Naruto as a catalyst to everything good that happened in her life. On the other hand, she sees all the hate and terrible treatment that he receives happening all around her, including in her own home. Having gone through similar circumstances on a different scale, I think it's logical that she would attach herself to Naruto. This even happened in canon.

 _Edited 7/19/2015 - First pass. Some spelling and grammar errors corrected._


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